Open Mic Night…for Preteens?

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you let preteens take over your service? What if you gave them an “open mic”?

This month, we’ve been focusing on the Gospel and our need. We gave preteens a glimpse of the world’s need for Jesus by highlighting that there are estimated 2.88 billion people who are “unreached,” which means they’ve not heard the Gospel. On a closer level, there are 259 million people in North America that do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We even broke it down to our city and community to see the great need for the Gospel.

The following week, we focused on the power of our personal testimonies to share the Gospel. We led preteens to talk through and write their faith story. It was a great opportunity to share the Gospel with some of our students who were struggling to write. It was also a great chance to hear our students personalize their faith and start sharing.

This past Sunday, we invited preteens to pick up the “open mic” and share their faith story with their peers. We had some back-up plans to fill the time in case no one responded, but we actually had to cut them off!

Here are some of the stories that we heard during the testimony time:

6th Grade boy told about an opportunity he had to share about Jesus with a classmate. The teacher overheard and called his parents to “brag” about his boldness.

6th Grade boy shared his testimony and how he walked through the decision with his dad. His quote, “If someone asked me why they should trust in Jesus, I would read Romans 3:23. You just can’t argue with that!”

5th Grade girl shared about a friend that had been asking questions about the Bible and Jesus. She told about the conversations they were getting to have together.

6th Grade girl shared her testimony that came through conversations with her mom. She said, “My dad is a Hindu. My mom and I are Christians.” She and her mother have taken a huge step to trust in Jesus, and they continue to share Jesus with the dad.

6th Grade girl shared about an abusive situation in her family, and how the love she felt from others in that situation led her to trust in Christ.

5th Grade girl shared her testimony and how Jesus had brought so much joy into her life.

At the end of the share time,we were speechless and many of us had tears. It was amazing to see preteens sharing about what God is doing in them and around them. We will definitely plan a service like this again soon!